| Mary Dix, Criminal Abortion Death | |
On November 30, 1874, Mrs. Mary Dix died at her Chicago home from complications of a criminal abortion performed there. Dr. W. F. Aiken was arrested and charged with murder. Mary's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician. I have no information on overall maternal mortality, or abortion mortality, in the 19th century. I imagine it can't be too much different from maternal and abortion mortality at the very beginning of the 20th Century. Note, please, that with issues such as doctors not using proper aseptic techniques, lack of access to blood transfusions and antibiotics, and overall poor health to begin with, there was likely little difference between the performance of a legal abortion and illegal practice, and the aftercare for either type of abortion was probably equally unlikely to do the woman much, if any, good. For more on this era, see Abortion Deaths in the 19th Century. For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
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